Overview
- Reporting based on Justice Department emails and texts shows Dr. Melanie S. Walker described a personal, reportedly consensual relationship with Bill Gates to Jeffrey Epstein and said they did not have sex but had intimate encounters in Gates’s office.
- The documents include messages in which Epstein urged Walker to pursue a sexual relationship with Gates and offered advice on how to signal interest and manage risk.
- Walker worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2006 and is reported to have helped introduce Epstein to Gates and several Gates associates through her professional and social ties.
- A Gates spokesperson said he was not aware of the nature of Walker’s history with Epstein and denied any impropriety, while Walker’s lawyer described her as a survivor of a long, coercive relationship with Epstein.
- The records come from Justice Department files assembled during Epstein investigations and could prompt renewed scrutiny of how Epstein’s connections intersected with philanthropic and corporate networks and reputation risks for involved institutions.